Dancing with the Devil
by Death the Grell
Summary: As the last two of the Valerious line, Anna and Velkan call upon a distant cousin in an attempt to preserve what is left of the family. Kya Albarn is that person, but once she gets to her family's castle and sees that they hunt the undead she begins to question if this was the right choice. Perhaps a certain cloaked man can change her mind on this matter? (please R&R)
1. Scrisoarea

_1-_ _Uvertură_

 _ **There are many stories about the creatures and monsters that live within the mountains of Romania. The werewolf, able to change shape from man to wolf. They can tear a small village apart, yet are rarely seen. Creatures that roam the night searching for their next victims. Half human creatures made from the bodies of the dead and mechanical parts, fitted together and allowed to roam freely. However, the most frightening of all, are the vampires. Many who live in Budapest believe that these creatures do not exist as they live on the side of the Carpathians that do not experience the attacks of creatures who have been denied Gods eternal light. His grace and hide in the shadows, coming out only at night to feed.**_

 _ **But i know that these creatures are real. Mind you, they are not to be reckoned with. They are able to slaughter hundreds in one night, and able to sway your judgement to their side. Can make you think and feel what they wish for you to feel. For when you least expect it, on a nightly stroll through the small villages and towns on the northern end of the Carpathians, they can snatch you up and kill you never to be seen again.**_

* * *

Sitting in a dark carriage being driven towards a very small town, Kya Albarn, sits alone reading a letter that was printed in the London papers just before her train had departed for Romania, where she will remain with distant relatives at Castle Valerious with her Cousins Anna and Velkan. Some how they had gotten in contact with her in her small tavern where she worked and asked her to come and stay as their father had recently gone missing and she was the only person alive that has tied to their families blood line. As the young woman sat in her carriage that was leaving Budapest to the out skirts of the massive city, she couldn't help but to feel some what... fearful to take her place among her distant family. She had always know about them from a young age but they have never contacted her nor tried to visit her. They had always kept to them selves in their small part of Romania. A place where these creatures in the paper she had in her hands now, existed and ran a muck in the streets.

Now as the carriage came to a stop and the burly footman helped the woman out she felt something new that she hadn't felt since her mother and father both passed. She was uncertain of what was to come in the next few months while living in Transylvania, but there was no turning back now. Kya carefully pulled her old leather sack down from the carriage where she was, filled with her few earthly possessions that she still had left to her name, then thanked the carriage driver before going to a small merchant just outside the city gates to try and buy a horse to ride to the estate of her cousins. The merchant gladly sold her one of his horses for half the price of a normal horse seeing as how he knew the Valerious family well and had supplied them with horses for many years. She then thanked the man for his troubles and slung her sack over her shoulder and mounted her horse. Now it would only be a three hour ride by horse following the map that was included with the letter written by Anna showing her how to use the safest path to get to their families castle. Taking a deep breath Kya placed the paper clipping into her corset pocket and took out the map before gently ushering her horse into a slow trot and onto the pathway to begin her journey.

* * *

 **Hello everyone. IT has been a while since ive written any thing and man does it feel good. I know this isn't much of a start to a Van Helsing fanfic but please be patient. Im just about to finish my summer online classes for college then ill have about a week to do wast ever the hell i want before going straight back to college on campus. So as a warning chapters aren't going to come out on a set schedule.**

 **Please let me know what you guys think and ill try to start writing up the next chapter soon.**


	2. Veri

_2-_

It had already been only an hour since she had begun her ride into the forest, the dark trees and shrubbery blocking out any trace of sunlight that still lingered in the fall as she rode. Now as the young woman looked at the map in her hands as she stood beside her horse, in the middle of the trail that the girl was officially... lost. Map reading had never been her specialty but she had tried her best to try to make out the map that Velkan had taken the time to collect and send to her on her before she left London. But that had been before she actually gotten to Romania. As the girl stand there in her long black trousers, working boots, and light blue peasant shirt covered only by a very old and worn wool cloak that she had taken from her bag while riding, she attempted to find any landmark she could to help her find her way. After a moment or two of not being able to find anything remotely similar to her on the map she looked to the sky and saw the dark rain clouds over head and sighed. She could either turn back or press ahead, either option and shed be soaked to the bone from the impending rain. Kya looked to her horse and gently pat his neck before taking the reigns and carefully begins to walk down the dirt path way, deciding to press on.

"I do hope that this Castle has decent fireplaces, and a warm stable for you young sir." She spoke aloud to no one in particular. Since she was alone she could do as she pleased and she felt like talking to her horse, so damn her she will.

As she walks down the pathway she periodically looks between the map in her hands and the road to ensure that shes at least going in a direction that is some what close to where she is supposed to go. After passing by what looked like a dark patch in the road she heard something break nearby. It sounded almost like someone walking behind her but as she stopped to look around she saw no one in sight.

"How strange..."

Kya turned back around and gently pulled on the reigns to her horse as she began walking again. This time paying a bit more attention to her surroundings than before. There were no forests like this in London, all that was there were thick alleyways filled to the brim with merchants of all kinds and the wealthy and poor mingling together, respectfully in their own sections of course since no wealthy person wishes to give money to the poor now do they. Kya sighed slightly as she stopped once again to look at the map in her hands then cursed to her self before going to the bag that she had managed to strap to the saddle on the horse and reached into the bottom and took out a small fountain pen that she had brought with her and began to mark symbols on the map to attempt to aid her in her travel.

"Oh no Kya ve cannot come to get you for ve are busy vit our hunting and our fishing, and other shite! So ve do not have time to come and show you the vay!" She yelled to herself as she placed the pen back in the bag doing her impression of what Valerious must sound like with his Romanian accent and everything. "Why must i find the way on my own, its nearly dark."

With a sigh Kya carefully mounted her horse and urged him to start into a slow trot to try and make progress through the woods. Though he wasn't a purely bred horse he has a very good temperament and has been trained and already obeys her commands when asked. Though Kya was sure the training could have involved a weapon of some kind she did not want to think of that while she rode through a dark forest. All the while she is observing her map she is also holding the reigns in one hand and the map in another, she then realizes shes had it upside down the entire time. She pulled her horse to a stop and crumpled the parchment into a ball and pretended to throw it into the distance.

"I! HATE! MAPS!" She yelled before calming down slightly and looked around her to see just where she is. Pushing part of her short black hair out of her face, it appears that all shed been doing was going in circles for the past hour and she was about to complete another loop.

She groaned and rubbed her hands over her eyes before looking around once more but this time on the road up ahead she spots a black figure. Gently digging in her heels she tries to get closer hoping that it wasn't a tree and someone she can ask directions from.

"Excuse me?!"

Just as she called out the figure turns to show that it wasn't a tree but a man. He stands probably a bit taller than Kya when standing on the ground, but he is dressed in a black cloak that covers his entire body, you couldn't even see his arms as she stands there looking at her with light blue eyes. As she drew nearer to the man she could see now that he appears to be a noble. Upon seeing this she immediately hopped off her horse and carefully walks over to him trying to remember her manners around those of nobility.

"Excuse me sir, but i seem to be lost out here. Could you possibly point me in the direction of..." She quickly pulled out the map again as well as the letter taking a moment to smooth out the parchment that was the map and tries to pronounce the name correctly as she explains it to him. "I believe its called Valirious Castle?"

"Castle Valerious?"

Kya's head snapped up at the sound of the mans deep voice as he graciously corrected her. She nod and noted that the air around her seemed to drop in temperature as well as grow a little more dire. The man smirked partially to him self but then nodded and moved out of the way and gestures to a branch in the road.

"Follow that path way and you will go straight there." The mans thick Romanian accent made her feel horribly embarrassed by her mocking of it earlier.

"Thank you sir. Thank you very much." She gently placed the map and letter inside her corset pocket before climbing back into the saddle and looked down to the man. "Truly sir, thank you. I'd have been out here all night if you hadn't been here."

"If i may ask, why do you seek the castle?"

She looked down to the man a bit cautious to answer his question but, he didn't seem to have any weapons on him or have any ill intent. What would be the harm in answering a few questions?

"I have family, well... so called family there. They sent for me to come and here i am." She smiles kindly before bowing her head to him. "Thank you again sir."

She dug in her heels and her horse took off in a faster trot down the new pathway. That man was very odd to her as she thought about her encounter with him as she rode. Perhaps it was just the fact that she was lost in a foreign place, or that he had seemingly come out of no where. The longer she thought about it the more odd this situation became. Why did Anna and Velerious contact her? Did they need another maid for their castle? Surely they could afford new help other than a "Distant cousin" from London. Their families had barely spoken to one another int he past decade let alone see each other. Why now, after five years since the passing of her father would they contact her, and then not even bother to come out of their precious castle to try to make her feel a bit more at ease in a country that has creatures roaming about, or at least the stories surrounding this place told her.

This time as she rode down the path she was able to follow the map with ease and made it to a small snow covered town within two hours. The streets were filled with people going to and fro going about their daily business. Now that she was at the town she could stop and take a moment to ask for proper directions from a towns person to get to the castle, seeing as she had gotten her self lost before. Just as Kya drew up towards what appeared to be a pup another rider came up beside her. This one is also a woman with long wavy dark brown hair draped over one shoulder. Wearing black trousers, long leather riding boots and a top similar to what Kya is wearing, only her shirt was creme with red roses on it and she wore a black leather corset on the outside of her clothing.

"Are you Kya Albarn?" The woman asked her in her Romanian accent.

The woman nodded. "Yes i am, i assume that you are Anna?"

The woman on her magnificent black horse, surely must be a pure breed, nodded her head. "Follow me to our home we don't have much time before the night falls."

With that the woman turned her horse around and began to head off in the direction that Kya was now supposed to follow. Clearly this will not be a very easy relationship between her cousins and her self. The daughter of a merchant from London and the two royal twins, clearly the difference between them would drive a wedge between them in some way. Kya could only hope that they aren't what she thinks they are.

* * *

 ** _Damn i am proud of myself. Two chapters in one week, this has to be a miracle. Well thats all i got for this time. Please review, leave a like!_**


	3. Gemenii regal

_3- Gemenii regal_

It only took the two women a short while to get to the stables behind the grand castle set just beyond the small town. As they rode up towards the castle it appeared that there were already fired lit inside as well as lights in some of the rooms of the castle. Anna showed her guest to the stables before dismounting her horse and hands it off to one of the many stable hands available. A young boy wearing a brown woolen cloak came over to Kya and very carefully offered to help her down. She gladly accepted it and allowed the boy to help her down from her horse before gently taking the reigns from her and bowing to the young woman. After unstrapping her bag from the saddle she reluctantly left the boy to tend to her horse. She looked towards her cousins horse, he was as dark as the night the only thing off about the horse was that there was a small white patch on the top of his head. she watched as Anna very gently stroked the animals mane before taking its bridle off and putting it on a hook that was just outside the stall. It was clear that Anna cared for her horse and even though she was a princess she would take the time to care for her horse like this. Perhaps Kya's expectations were a bit harsh for meeting her cousins for the first time.

She expected them to live in a castle, truth, with hundreds of servants waiting on their every hand and foot, possibly, and they look down their noses to any one and everyone in their path. The image of Anna in royal robes and a crown did not fit such a woman. She bled a lethal air around her that told anyone around her that she was ready to kill you at any moment. Now that Kya was able to see the woman up close and in better lighting from the torches that were lit in the stables she could tell that Anna had spent many hours, if not years training her body so she can be as strong as she could be. Even as she gently stroked the horses back while taking the saddle off, she could tell that the woman standing across from her was not a traditional Royal like the ones back in England. She was one that actually worked alongside her subjects and did her best to try to serve them as they did for her.

After another moment or two of the woman caring for her horse she let the stable hands take over before walking over to Kya and putting her hands on her hips.

"Thank you for coming here on such short notice. We would have come to get you at the station had we not been busy trying to catch a werewolf." She waved he rhand and walked past her towards the passage that leads to the actual castle. "Follow me."

Kya had to stop for a moment and collect her thoughts before following behind the woman. There goes all her hopes that her distant cousins were mentally capable and didn't feed into the stories about their home country. Why would this woman be searching for a werewolf, shouldn't she be trying to make relations with the other nobles around here. Perhaps she set her expectations a bit to high. Kya sighed slightly before trying to catch up to her and looks around the inside of the castle. On every wall there was a painting of some sort. Be it a mural of a long passed ancestor or simply... a map of Transylvania. Alright... perhaps they once used to be expert map makers?

Kya shook her head and she followed her cousin through the halls taking note of just how many weapons this family collected. Clearly they believed that these creatures were odd but it could also be that they make their own weapons and simply put them on display. Swords of varying sizes, maces, stakes of all sizes, and even silver bullets. Clearly this family has some issues that need to be dealt with. Kya followed behind the woman and stops as Anna comes to a pair of large ornate wooden doors and throws them open. Inside the room is lit by the light of the roaring fire that is already burning inside the fireplace. There is a large bed set off to the right side of the room with two small tables beside them. One with a large candle stick on it allong with a bible and the other a was basin mostlikely filled with water.

"You can stay here, it was my mothers room." Anna walks into the room and throws open the heavy curtains that covered the window beside the bed.

Kya walked into the room carefully almost afraid to breathe. Its almost like everything had been made for a woman with a... lighter touch. The colors in the room were blue and creme rather than the red and various shades of brown through out the castle. The large window was able to open out to let fresh air in, but Kya knew with the snow coming down outside that would be a bad idea. Why was it snowing this early in the year? Was it because of the location of the castle or perhaps just a change in altitude?

"The maids come every morning with breakfast, Velkan and I are rarely home when breakfast is served. They will treat you like the do us, like royalty. I wish we had more time to talk about this but i must go. Please make yourself comfortable and feel free to look around the castle."

And with that Anna hurried from the room and back down the halls towards another part of the castle.

"Thank you..." Kya whispered to herself as she placed her bag down upon the grand bed before slowly sitting down upon it.

The mattress easily gave way to her weight, cradling her even as she sat. It was already much better than her living quarters in London. Though the family she served were very kind and gracious, the home that they owned was very old and had very small rooms for the servants to use when living there. Looking around the room again Kya can now see more details in the room. There were at the very least three large tapestries strung up onto the wall each depicting scenes that contrasted greatly with what was in the castle its self. These were much older as well, they depicted ancient cities long gone and battles that shaped the world and the land the castle now stood on. Kya reached into her bag and took out a leather bound book and held it in her hands before standing back up and taking her cloak off. She carefully lay it over the back of the wooden chair beside the fireplace and left her room to explore the castle that she will now call home for the next few months.

As she left her room she looked around the hall again seeing nothing but weapons upon weapons up and down the hallways. She looked down to the book in her hands and opened it up and read the last thing that was written before moving to the left.

 _ **"I shall be telling this with a sigh**_

 _ **Somewhere ages and ages hence:**_

 _ **Two roads diverged in a wood, and I-**_

 _ **I took the one less traveled by,**_

 _ **And that has made all the difference."**_

It was a small portion of a larger poem that her mother had written for her as a child. Kya had always been fascinated with literature and did her best to gain new books whenever she could and change them into her own stories. The ones written by men that were tasteless and boring were the ones she liked best. She could always find a way to make it more entertaining. Looking up from her little book she found that she had made her way into what appeared to be the armory, although the entire castle looked like an armory of sorts. The torches in this room were not lit so Kya turned around and whent back the other way this time at the end of the hallway on the opposite side she found what turned out to be a library. Instantly she felt more at ease when she set her eyes upon the walls filled with books. Though her master had a grand library in his home, this one was by far the most grand that she had ever seen.

All four walls were covered completely with shelves upon shelves of books. The largest of them all were set upon a large wooden table that stretched across the room in front of a fireplace larger than the one in her bedroom. This room was very well lit and it appeared that it was one of the most used rooms in the entire castle. Kya turned around in a circle to admire the room then whent to one of the shelves and attempted to try to find something to read, if not then she could always write. It appears that there was some parchment and ink laying on the table, so she would not have any trouble with entertaining herself for the evening. All of the books were written in Romanian and unfortunately, even though Kya can read unlike many other women, she does not know any other language than English. With a sigh she moved towards the chair that was pulled up to the table and placed her little book down before her. As she sat down she took in the room once again enjoying the sight of all of these books, then she picked up the pen from the ink well in her left hand, opened her little book to a clean page and began to write as she always did.

 ** _"The snow drapes over the mountain tops,_**

 ** _and o'er the tops of the homes._**

 ** _Though it be Autumn, the snow falls..."_**

* * *

 **Yay chapter three. I hope everyone likes this chapter ill try to have another one up soon and thats when we get to the main story. Hope you liked it, please let me know and review.**


	4. Explicaţii

_4-_ _Explicaţii_

"Miss? Miss?"

A soft and gentle voice spoke, it came from behind the sleeping woman and pulled her from her dreams of flying creatures and a dusty old castle. Kya tried to wave off the voice wanting to rest more, when she realized that she had fallen asleep in the library she sat up with a start, and looked around seeing the walls lined with books and the once burning fireplace now extinguished. Kya turned and saw an older woman standing there in a white top and long brown skirt. Her brown hair laced with gray showing that the woman was slightly older. She looked down upon the girl with a confused and also very serious expression.

"Master Velkan and Mistress Anna have requested to speak with you, over the morning meal." She said before turning and leaving the room holding a bucket that was filled with ashes from what KYa could only assume was the fireplace, however the woman's statement confused her.

"I thought that they did not eat breakfast miss. That is what Miss Anna had told me last night." Kya stood up and noted how sore her body felt after such a long ride on her horse as well as sleeping in an odd position during the night.

The older woman stopped in the door way before turning back to Kya and smiled very kindly bringing life into the woman's worn and stern features. "She does not eat morning meals however the Mistress asked us to prepare something for everyone so that they may speak to you in a more... relaxed, i believe the word is, atmosphere."

The younger of the two women stared in shock as the eldest left the room to go about her daily chores. Why would Anna ask to have a morning meal when she clearly said that she does not eat anything in the mornings? Was it truly a sign of good faith, or perhaps it was just a way for them to break the ice and tell her that she was going to be their newest servant to the household. The latter of the two options was the least appealing to Kya, but then again, it would not be the first time tat it happened to the young woman. With a sigh she took up her little black book and skimmed through what she had written the night before. Though she has fallen asleep midway through her writings she could see that it was the beginnings of a story, the first scene of which was written across three separate pages. Seeing this brought a smile to Kya's face as she walked down the halls towards where she would assume a castles dining room would be, however the smell of freshly baked bread caught her and pulled her towards it. By following this she found herself in the kitchen silently watching as a staff of over thirty worked with ease finishing the morning meal. Taking the bread out of the large brick oven, freshly picked fruit being placed on a tart shell with honey placed on top, as well as any number of extravagant dishes were being prepared.

One of the younger female servants paused while picking up a basket of bread and saw Kya standing int he doorway of the kitchen and smiled kindly to the woman before bowing her head.

"Did you need help finding the dining area mi lady?"

Kya looked at the girl then nodded her head, she didn't want to admit it but she had gotten herself confused while following the smell of freshly baked bread. She followed the young woman down the hallway she was just in and was escorted towards a magnificent dining room. There were windows as tall as the room allowing the natural sunlight to stream into the room and shine upon the wooden table. At the end closest to the servant doors there were three chairs set up in front of a grand breakfast. Upon the table lay the same dishes that Kya watched being prepared in the kitchen, plus many more including a fresh pot of tea, and some sort of drink that Kya was unfamiliar with. The young servant placed the basket of bread upon the table and bowed to Kya before taking her leave. Just as she had left the room the doors on the opposite side of the room opened allowing Anna into the room now dressed in light brown slacks, knee high leather boots, a creme colored blouse with a light brown leather corset covering her middle.

Behind her was whom Kya could only assume to be her brother, Velkan. He stood three feet taller than Kya and appeared to be the royal that Kya assumed them both to be. With light brown hair that came to his shoulders, his features were very pristine and sharp making his noble status clear by just his looks. He wears knee high riding boots over his black trousers, a cream colored peasant shirt that is similar to his sisters and a black vest buttoned up. Though his features showed his aristocratic heritage his body was well formed from hours of training, similar to Anna's and he could possibly harm someone with his thumb. Clearly Kya's simple outfit of her blue peasant top and black trousers seemed to be under dressing for the occasion as both Anna and Velkan came into the room, the latter of the two adjusting his belt that had a long saber attached to it. An interesting accessory to add to an every day wear, however Kya did not question it as she stood straighter in the prescience of her supposed family.

Anna and Velkan both stopped two feet away from their cousin and took a moment to collect their thoughts. Anna was the first to speak.

"I hope you like what we had made for you Kya. It is all farmed here from the village and our own gardens." She then turned to the man standing beside her and smiles lovingly to him. "This is my brother Velkan."

He stands straight up before giving a stiff bow and holding his hand out to Kya. She hesitantly placed her hand in his and he gave a very proper shake as he stood back up.

"It is very nice to meet you Miss Kya. Please, sit, let us speak during our meal yes?" His accent is much thicker than Anna's, where as he was much more proper and relaxed Anna was very cold and calculating as she spoke and skipped right to the point.

Kys remained silent and simply nodded before sitting down at her place at the table while Anna and Velkan took theirs across from her. As their breakfast was being served to them Kya very carefully looked at the windows behind Anna and Velkan and saw that there was another castle further into the forest on the top of a hill. How odd, perhaps they weren't the only royals here?

"So, Kya... how did you get here?"

Kya looked away from the window to where she needed to shift her attention. It seemed as if Anna had asked her the question. The young woman cleared her throat before speaking.

"I came by sea and by train. Across the Adriatic Sea i believe it was." Kya blushed slightly before looking at her plate that was set before her and felt a bit odd.

She had never in her life been served by someone else before, she was always the one to serve others. Never the other way around. As she looked up from her plate she saw Anna's stern face brighten, something that she said must have made the woman very happy.

"Ive never been to the sea, is it beautiful?" Anna asked as she set her cup of tea down.

Kya nodded and blushed slightly not enjoying having the conversation be pointed towards her. "It was. The waters are very blue this time of year."

Anna nodded before her brother cleared his throat and sat up in his seat. "Miss Kya, though we are curious to how your travels were, we did not call you here just to exchange pleasantries. We asked you to come here to help us."

Kya frowned and paused as she was pulling her cup of tea towards her. "My help, what ever for sir?"

"Our family has been plagued by a curse for centuries. Our ancestor vowed to kill Count Dracula, however... our family will never see the gates of heaven if we do not kill him before our entire family dies." Anna responded being very cold and matter of fact with her explanation.

Velkan nodded in agreement. "That is why we have called upon you to come here. In the family tree you are the only person who has not been effected by this curse. After Anna and I... YOU are the last descendant with Valerious blood. You can help us break the curse."

Kya took a moment to contemplate what they were saying, each of them with a straight face and seeming very adamant that she was their only hope to lengthen their families bloodline. "And just who is this Count Dracula?"

"He is a vampire who had plagued our lands for centuries... he seems almost desperate to finish off our family line." Velkan replied with a somber look in his eye. "Our father recently whent missing while searching for him."

Kya couldn't believe what she was being told. The two grown people before her believed in these silly stories, and adopted them into their family legacy? Before she could stop her self Kya burst out laughing. She covered her mouth in an attempt to muffle her laughter. "Please... forgive me but... i have never heard something so ridiculous before in my life."

Anna and Velkan both shared a confused look before turning it upon the hysterical woman before them. Why would she be laughing at something so dire?

"You summoned me here, away from my mistress and my duties because of an old ghost story?" She fanned her face as she slowly began to calm down. "Why would you two go to such great lengths to tell me a story that is not even real?"

Anna frowned and crossed her arms over her chest. "Why is this funny? Our family has slowly been killed off by an unholy monster and his brides."

"Because those are just old ghost stories that aren't real. None of it is. I truly feel horrible that you've lost everyone in your family, with the most recent being your father however... i refuse to believe that these creatures are real."

Velkan glared at Kya and leaned forward in his seat. "They aren't stories, its true."

"Then show me evidence... can you show me definitive proof that vampires, and werewolves exist? If you do then id be happy to see it." Kya shot back as she finally calmed down and is now able to think clearly.

At her remark the two royals sitting before her turned to one another looking very uneasy and at a loss for words.

"You haven't any evidence do you?" Kya shook her head and sighed. "If you truly wish for my help then please tell me what i can do, however i will not sit here and be told these ridiculous stories with out there being any evidence behind them."

Velkan looked at Kya before sighing. "Then we will take you out with us so you may see what we do... and when you see that what we tell you is not a story then you will see that we do indeed need your help. However, until that time i believe that you could help us with the towns people."

At this admission from Velkan, Kya frowned a bit confused and worried. They truly believed that these creatures exist, that they were actively searching for their family members to kill in cold blood.

"Many of the people believe that the curse will be complete soon enough... and we need someone to help bring their spirits up." Anna looked into Kya's eyes being very sincere and direct. "Perhaps you could show them that we do not intend to stop until we've defeated him."

This caused Kya to relax very slightly as she began to consider what that meant. There were two options that came to her mind. First, she would need to be an ambassador of sorts for the people to allow them to express their grievances and worries to her and relay them to Anna and Velkan. Second, to work in the town and show that life can go on even with something as ridiculous as a vampire killing everyone.

"And what will i get out of this? For all i know we could only be cousins by marriage and not blood, that does not make me a royal and i will not take advantage of your wealth and hospitality. If all you wish for me is to keep the townspeople calm then i will do what i can, however... i do not want it to be a campaign to show me that these stories of Vampires are real. I will not hear it."

And with that Kya excused her self from the table and left the room without looking back. She would need some time to consider what was happening and perhaps even speak with them both at a later time. Once Kya reached her room she shut the door and fell upon her bed laying face down as she tried to wrap her brain around just what had happened. The two people that she was truly skeptical about meeting have just told her that they brought her here because in some way they are related and they want to keep their family lineage going as long as they possibly can. Not only that but they had tried to convince her that Vampires and Werewolves were real and plagued their land and the people. Had she gotten the wrong letter and it was meant to be sent to a different Kya Albarn? That's absurd, she is the only woman with that name not only that but the only female servant in their mistress' household. No one else could have gotten that letter but her... perhaps they truly were related. As Kya lay on her bed she contemplated what they had said to her before finally concluding that they must have been bored and sought entertainment and decided to spread around stories to make the towns people fearful of going out at night.

She sat up and looked out the window and saw that it was midday. She might as well try to make the most out of the rest of the day and decided to get cleaned up. After rummaging through her leather bag that had not moved from the bed she decided on wearing a long sleeved white blouse that buttoned all the way up to her neck, as well as a clean pair of black trousers and her boots. If Anna and Velkan truly wished to have her comfort the people then perhaps she may as well see just how far their people live. After splashing her face with water from the basin beside the bed, Kya got dressed and proceeded to walk around the castle back towards where the library was. Perhaps there was a map that she could use to find her way around, that was easy to read. As she walked she paused by the large painting of Transylvania showing the vast terrain of the country as well as how large it was. As Kya was able to get a better look at it she knoticed that along the left hand side there was some kind of Latin inscription leading all the way down, but there was a small portion of the painting missing. it appeared as though it finished the Latin that was written there.

Who would do such a thing to a magnificent portrait? Shaking her head, Kya whent back to her task and found the library this time when she entered there was already someone there. Anna sat at the table reading over something, upon hearing the door open she looked up and her once relaxed feature's hardened and she returned to her reading.

"What is it you want?" Her voice now cold and restrained. Clearly what Kya had said earlier had turned the woman's view of her into a negative one.

"I came to see if there was a map of the village here. If you wish for me to help wouldn't it be best for me to see how far your villagers live from the castle?"

Anna paused in her reading before closing her eyes and sitting back in her chair. "You are very precise..." Leaning forwards Anna picked up a small piece of parchment before handing it to Kya. "It is written in Romanian but the paths will lead you to the furthest home last recorded."

Kya carefully took the map from the woman and nodded her head. "Thank you." Before leaving Kya paused and turned back to the woman at the table. "I believe that we began this relationship on the wrong foot. Perhaps we could try to amend that some how?"

This tore Anna away from her reading to look upon the young woman before her. At only twenty three years of age she seemed to show the intelligence of someone much older than her. She knew that her family had tied to her but not only by marriage but blood as well. Perhaps she was right, they had shoved a bit too much on the young woman all at once. She had only just arrived in the country last evening. She would need time to adjust to their ways and see for her self just what lurked in the dark. Anna nodded before standing and going to Kya. Now as Kya stood with her cousin she truly saw that the woman before her was only slightly taller than she was and that she wasn't as tough as she seemed to be. Kya could see in her light hazel eyes that she was scared as well as concerned for her family.

"You are right. We should have told you this in a better way, and you do deserve to see evidence. We will show it to you when we have it Kya." Anna said with a smile trying to show that she had no ill intentions with the younger woman in front of her.

Kya smiled and held her hand out to her. "Then i will do what i can to calm the minds and hearts of your people."

The two shook hands before Kya took her leave and left for the stables to saddle her horse. While there she was warned by the stable hand to return before sundown as the vampires were known to take those who wandered away from the village. Kya simply nodded and thought nothing more of it. If she was going to try and calm these people then she would need to approach this upon neutral ground. As she pulled on a thick wool cloak she began to think of ways of how to tell her mistress in London that her trip away from the house hold will take longer than the two months that she had originally planned. Though she was sure that her mistress will not mind... her son would not be so forgiving.

* * *

 **YAY ONE BIG LONG CHAPTER! I had originally planned for this to be a really long chapter but i thought to split it into two. So here's the first and ill start working on the second soon. Hope you like it please review, constructive criticism is always helpful!**


	5. Domnul a naibii

_5-Domnul a naibii_

 **"Sound sleep by night; study and ease**  
 **Together mixed; sweet recreation,**  
 **And innocence, which most does please**  
 **With meditation.**

 **Thus let me live, unseen, unknown;**  
 **Thus unlamented let me die;**  
 **Steal from the world, and not a stone**  
 **Tell where I lie."**

Kya had been out riding for hours and now as the sun had set behind the magnificent mountains behind the castle that she will now be staying, she had yet to find the last homes on the map as they seemed to have dissapeared. No matter how hard she searched she could not find them so now she merely rode in the dark with only the moonlight to guide her as she wrote small things in her little leather book but found the poem that her father had written the day she was given it very comforting as she rode. As the woman looked away from the page she gently urged her horse to go to the left on the trail and found that as she did that she had made her way to an opening in the trees. Kya put the little book into the saddle bag and pulled her horse to a stop before dismounting and getting down so she can walk around. She took the reigns in her hand and walked her horse beside her as she followed the path. Where was this going to lead her? Before she could ask herself anymore questions she saw the largest castle she could imagine beginning to loom above her in the moonlight. As the trees fully parted she was able to see what looked like the stables for the horses that once lived there as well as the entrance to the castle. Kya carefully led her horse over to the stable walls and tied him there so she could leave once she was finished exploring.

Kya glanced around her to see if anyone was there that might live here, but saw no evidence that there were any servants or any one who lived here. It must be an abandoned castle, but who would leave such a magnificent place as this? The tallest two spires of the castle, creating large black shadows on the ground from the moonlight. The entire building seemed to be made out of some kind of old stone that had an odd and eerie feeling to it, but Kya pressed on. She had seen this castle just this morning while talking with Anna and Velkan, she was not going to let an opportunity pass her by to explore what she could of this place. However, the closer Kya got to the dark entry way of the castle the more she began to feel unsettled by the atmosphere around her. It felt almost as if someone were watching her. But that would be impossible, the castle had to be abandoned. There are no lights lit inside and no servants going in and out trying to keep up with their chores. A castle this size must take at least 100 servants to clean and work the entire house.

Just as Kya was about to place her foot inside of the dark entry way something inside her, told her to go back and to stay out of the castle. Her heart pounding away in her chest as if to warn the woman to stay away. Thinking better of breaking into a place like this Kya turned around and whent back to her horse and looked at the map under the moon light. It wasn't listed on the map as part of Anna and Velkan's territory, but just just outside of it. Kya now stood on grounds that were not protected by her cousins. Kya's breath turned into steam as she stood there in the cold night air, she should go back to Castle Valerious. Since the sun had set the temperature had dropped well below a comfortable level and if she stayed out any longer she might come down with some kind of illness. Kya took one last look at the castle behind her before untieing her horse from the stable and leading him back into the forest and back towards the town.

"Who would leave a castle like that?" Kya asked aloud to no one in particular. "Perhaps Anna knows..."

She turned and carefully led her horse back down the pathway they had come and found that the forest was very quiet, although it was relatively early in the evening Kya still felt uneasy about her surroundings. The feeling of being watched had gotten worse the further down the path she walked. Kya stopped and quickly mounted her horse and began to urge him to go a little faster so they could both get out of the cold night air as quickly as she could. Just as she passed by an old abandoned cottage something spooked her horse causing him to rear up and began to flail its front legs before going back onto the ground before doing it again. Kya tried her best to hold onto the reigns but she lost her grip and fell too the ground, hitting her back on a downed branch and she felt pain spider through her body and her breathing stop for a moment. Her horse neighed before running off behind the house almost as if it was trying to hide. She tried to quickly get up and go get her horse before he ran off but she couldn't move, she was scared to move for fear that she had injured herself some how.

"ow..." She whispered to her self before taking a deep breath and forcing herself to get up. Just as she managed to push herself up she heard her horse neigh again from behind the house.

She used the trees around her to keep herself upright as she slowly adjusted to the pain in her back. What had scared her horse so badly? Couldn't they have been near a patch of snow on the trail for him to do this? Of course not, though she couldn't entirely blame the horse for being frightened by something she did curse her own bad luck for being in the wrong place. As she walked around to get her horse she saw someone standing there holding the reigns and gently petting the horses muzzle.

"Oh thank you! I would have lost him if it weren't for your help. Thank you!"

As Kya drew closer she knoticed that it was the same man that had helped her find her way to her cousins castle. He stood there gently petting the horse but now in the moonlight Kya could see a little more of his appearance. His skin was very pale and his face was drawn into a relaxed expression as he calmed the frightened horse. His long black hair was tied back away from his face, save for a few rebellious strands that fell into his face. In both of his ears he had golden hoops, his attire was similar to what she had seen him wear last evening. The long black cloak fell back slightly to show that he wore an older looking formal black suit, black top and black pants all the way down to his shiny black leather boots that came up to his knees. On his hands he had black leather gloves that protected him from the cold air. Kya quickly bowed her head and curtsied to him.

"Oh... please forgive me sir. I did not recognize you for a moment."

The mans mouth turned into a tight lipped smirk before answering her. "You need not worry my dear. You needn't be so formal."

Kya looked at the man shocked and confused. His accent was even thicker than she remembered but then again she was riding her horse when she had first met him.

"You took quite the fall from your horse, are you alright?" The man in black asked, pulling her out of her thoughts.

"Oh, yes sir. I am." She bowed her head again trying her best to show respect towards this man whom shed never officially met before in her life. Hes just a good samaritan who likes to walk in the woods...yeah.

She carefully walked over to her horse and gently pat his neck trying to gather some strength to get back up on her horse. "Thank you again for keeping him here Mr..." She trailed off not knowing what to call him.

"Ah... please forgive me. Allow me to... introduce myself. I am Count Vladislaus Dracula." He said with a short bow to her as a sign of respect.

Kya paused when she heard that name. So this is the man that Anna and Velkan believe has been trying to kill off their family. She was sure that he would not enjoy hearing her accusations of him and decided to keep her opinions to her self. Kya bowed her head before giving a very brief curtsy to him as her body now told her that she had perhaps taken TOO hard of a fall and her body ached from hitting the ground. She managed to keep her self calm enough to respond to the man before her.

"Thank you Sir Dracula." She gently scratched the horses neck making him neigh. "My name is Kya Albarn, and this is Hugh." She said as she gently patted the horse again.

She looked to the man beside her and saw that he had not stopped looking at her. His eyes were a very light shade of blue that appeared to be looking into her soul. The woman took a deep breath before moving towards the saddle.

"I should be going now sir. I am expected else where." However as she tried to put her foot into the stirrup to lift her self up she could not. Her body was now too weak form the fall to allow her to lift any part of her body.

"Allow me." Before Kya could protest she felt two firm hands around her wast gently lifting her up and onto the saddle to side side ways, the way a lady would. "If you would allow me the honor to escort you home my dear. It is far to dangerous to be out here alone, and you are injured from your fall."

"Oh no. Its quite alright sir, i can get back to the castle on my own..." She made a face that denied that she was fine and she did not see it but the Count smiled slightly at the sight knowing that she is vulnerable.

With out another word from either party the Count then slowly began to lead Kya's horse back onto the trail and towards Valerious castle. While riding Kya couldn't help but to look at the man that held the reigns of her horse. From the back she could see that his cloak was just as large as she had assumed it to be as it billowed behind him as he walked. His black hair, held back by a golden clip into a perfect ponytail stopping just between his shoulder blades. To Kya this seemed very improper and very odd. She would never allow a noble man to escort her any where especially one whom she was just introduced to. Perhaps the differences between Romania and London are just a bit to great for Kya to handle.

"Tell me my dear... what was it that took your attention from the road?"

Kya looked down to the man in black and saw that he had glanced back to her in order to give her his attention as best he could while guiding her horse.

"Oh...well... i-i was trying to get back to Castle Valerious sir. I did not wish to be out in the cold any longer than needed, so i decided to turn back after finding that old castle back down the trail." She explained.

"That, would be castle Frankenstein." His voice now became darker almost as if he had an unpleasant experience there or with the person who once lived there. "It has been abandoned for several months. You need not worry your self about going to explore that place."

Kya frowned at the name he had said the castle belonged to. "Frankenstein, as in the scientist turned grave robber?"

"The same my dear."

Kya felt sick upon hearing that. The man was a deranged lunatic who had gotten what he deserved by desecrating all of those graves. She could over look the portion about it being used to create life, however she did not belive that he had to use people who had died and not willingly allowed him to have their bodies after death. After a few more moments of silence, only broken by Hugh's breathing did KYa carefully manover herself to sit properly on her horse and begin to ask her companion to allow her to take her self home as she was sure that the townspeople would not wish to see someone who had caused them pain.

"Sir I-"

"Vlad."

Kya paused for a moment confused. "Excuse me?"

"Call me Vlad." Her escort stopped and turned towards Kya smiling almost to himself.

"Sir Vlad... Thank you very much for escorting me and helping me but i must go. My cousin's will worry if i am not home soon."

With that the man in black nodded and handed over the reigns almost reluctantly. "Perhaps we will see each other at another time?"

Kya looked down to the man and nodded. "Yes, i believe we will. Thank you once again, and i bid you good night sir."

She urged her horse to go into a run leaving the cloaked man alone in the woods. As her fading silhouette remained in his sight the Count couldn't help but to chuckle to him self. He had originally intended to kill the woman after she had fled from Castle Frankenstein, however upon seeing that she was reading while riding it had peaked his curiosity. IF she truly was a part of the Valerious family line then perhaps she could be of use to him. Though now he could see that she was a mere servant girl, one who always spoke with respect to anyone around her and showed no fear of him when told his name. Perhaps this woman was of a different caliber... only time would be the judge of that.


	6. Barmanita

_6-Barmanita_

Once returning home from her little adventure in the woods, Kya immediately whent to her bedroom and slept until morning where she was determined to work through her pain, caused by the fall from her horse, as it had grown worse after sleeping in one position. Now as three days have passed since coming to her cousin's castle, Kya had managed to land her self a position at the pub that was in the village. Anna had wanted her to make the people feel happy in these dark times, what better place that she could serve than in the pub? It was always crawling with people of all sorts. The rich and poor, the drunkards and women who sought pleasures of the flesh. Kya however is now a simple bar maid, set about to serve alcohol of all types to the different types of persons who walked into the establishment.

Tonight was the woman's second night working the bar and it had gone much better than the night before. Tonight she was able to give the different patrons their drinks in a timely manner and actually managed to get their orders correct. Now it was the end of the night and all of the patrons have gone home for the evening as they all respected the times around here and it was only a little past two in the morning when the pub cleared out. Kya stayed longer than she should have to help clean the pub for the night. Stacking chairs on top of the tables as well as washing the floors. This was the portion of her new job that she could complete with ease, being a maid for ten years made it easy for Kya to clean up messes very quickly and efficiently. Once finished the master of the pub, a tall blonde man whom wore simple clothing though he could buy newer ones thanks to his business, thanked the woman for her hard work tonight and sent her home for the night but not before warning her.

"You best make your way home... its late and the vampires could be hunting." He warned. Though he was an older man he was very kind and sweet towards her. Never laying a hand on her and kept the drunk patrons at bay so she can work in peace.

Kya shook her head and chuckled slightly. "I do not fear such creatures sir. I shall take my chances." She curtsied in her short knee length brown shirt, black leather corset and creme peasant blouse all stained here and there with various liquids and materials from the evening. Her short hair tied back so she did not have to constantly fix it while she worked.

The man chuckled and told her to take the next night for her self before showing her out the door and locking it once she was on the street. Kya took a deep breathe of the cold winter air as she looked around the town square that is now bathed completely with the moonlight shining from above. She wrapped her cloak around herself before beginning her walk back to the castle. Anna had told her that morning that her and Velkan were going away for a few days looking for their lost father. Kya felt sorry for the twins and truly wished that she could help with their search, however she knew that with him already being gone for two months there was only one option and that it was the man had passed. She wished that she could try to make the two under stand or at least think about the possibility that he was never coming home, or at the very least that he wouldn't come home easily. She sighed and took out her little leather book from her cloak pocket and began to read softly to her self, seeing what she had written before going into the pub.

Once Kya passed by the small homes leading towards the castle, out of the corner of her eye she saw something move out of the alleyway between two homes. When she stopped and turned to see what was there, she couldn't see anything there. Kya turned and looked around her not seeing anything but her breathe steam in the cold air. Perhaps she just saw an animal run away into the woods near by... odd that it didn't make any sounds however. As Kya turned to go back to walking she saw something move on her other side, turning again she saw nothing. She wasn't scared, she was more annoyed than she was anything else.

"If someone is trying to scare me, it will not work. Youll have to do better than that." She called out to who or what ever was around her. Perhaps she could speak calmly to this person.

As shed turned once more to begin walking she heard a soft chuckle coming from behind making her turn with an annoyed sigh before gasping softly upon seeing a darkly dressed figure there.

"My dear, you should not be out here alone. It is most dangerous at this hour."

Kya blushed as she saw and heard the Count speak to her while also slowly walking closer to her. She quickly curtsied as properly as she could to him before looking at him.

"With all due respect sir, i can hold my own. I don't believe in the stories that have gone around the town either so i will take my chances." She curtsied once again before trying to once again continue her walk only to be stopped again when the Count stepped in front of her. "Please sir. It is late and id very much like to go home."

The man smirked before bowing his head to her. "Then at least allow me to walk you back there my dear Kya."

Kya felt a chill run down her pine when he said her name. She had never heard it said in such a slow and gentle way before, and he had actually said it _correctly_. IT wasn't said Keya, but rather Keyeah. He was completely different from any other man that she had met, he was respectful and seemed to actually be concerned for her well being. Her thoughts spun in the woman's head as she considered her options. Though she hardly knew this man she was at a disadvantage. She did not know how to fight anyone off let alone mythical creatures, should they exist, nor could she survive the night in the freezing cold should she become lost. With a reluctant sigh she nodded.

"Yes you may, however i will not agree to any wanton activities with you as we barely know one another." She said sternly to the man looking up to him.

He bowed low to her causing the front portion of his cloak to scrape against the ground. "As you wish, and i had thought that we agreed you could call me Vlad my dear." He straightened and looked down to the woman with his light blue eyes that made her blush more than she already was.

"Well, Sir Vlad... I prefer to always use my manners no matter whom i am speaking with." Kya cleared her throat before placing her little book away inside her cloak and began walking beside the Count towards the large castle just past the village limits.

The Count watched the woman beside him carefully as they walked not noticing any signs of her fearing neither him or the environment around them. What had this girl seen or better yet, what does she know that she dose not flinch or cower away from him? This peaked his interest towards the woman even more so than just seeing that she was not from Romania. Kya could not help but to blush as she walked beside the tall, dark man who seemed to have come out of no where to help her. Who was he and how did he always seem to be in the right place at the right time?

"Tell me my dear, what was it that you were reading before while you were walking?"

Kya blushed deeply when the count spoke. She had hoped that she did not need to tell anyone that story however, she knew that this man would most likely press her for information until she gave in. With a sigh Kya gently touched the small book inside her robes and looked over to the tall man beside her still blushing. Deciding against listening to her heart she whent with what she knew was right, this man did not know her and though she felt that he meant well she did not want him to know about the book.

"It was nothing, just the inner thoughts of a maid."

Kya felt a slight twinge of guilt from lieing to him, however for all she knew he could be trying to do something to her in order to black mail her. Not very many women read and if they did then they were rich women and certainly not the low born. A simple maid shouldn't even be around books let alone know how to read and write. Kya heard a soft chuckle come from the man before he spoke calmly and softly.

"Perhaps with time you could show me? I would like to continue our little chats."

Kya stopped in the road and looked at the man in black. Though they were just at the gates that lead towards the stables in the castle Kya felt the need to address this before departing for the night.

"Are you trying to court me sir?" She asked a note of awe in her voice as if the mere thought of a wealthy man trying to court her was simply unobtainable.

The Count turned and smiled to her before bowing his head. "It appears my intentions are layed before me. You certainly are very smart my dear."

Kya felt her face warm as she blushed once more and looked down slightly before taking a deep breathe to calm herself.

"If that is your intention sir then i will tell you now. My heart will not be easily won for I do not wish to be bought. I do not see the benefit of being paid to marry someone. I wish to see your heart and what lies within." Kya walked past the Count and up to the gates and allows her self inside before closing them behind her and turning to look at her guide. "Thank you for walking with me sir Vlad."

Before Kya could turn away the Count had come up to the gate and held his hand out towards her. She very hesitantly took it before his hand closed around hers and he leaned down to place a very soft and cold kiss upon her knuckles.

"The pleasure was all mine my dear, perhaps I may walk with you each evening? That is if you are still willing to see me int he future."

Kya paused and considered this carefully. She already needed to send a letter to London detailing her reasons why she could not return to her duties as a maid for her mistress, should he know about her line of work as well as her lifestyle perhaps he will leave her alone. Then again, it was nice to be looked at as though you mattered in the world. That someone was willing to try to speak with her and form some kind of relationship. Kya smiled slightly at the gesture before nodding.

"Tomorrow night i have nothing to do, perhaps we could go for a ride through the forest and talk." Kya suggested and upon finishing her suggestion she was a very happy smile spread across the Counts face taking his serious look and changing it to one of pure joy.

"Tomorrow night, we ride."

With that they bid each other good night and parted ways for the evening. Unknown to Kya she was being watched by a figure in the forest, this one was not as happy to see KYa as the Count had been. This person did not wish to see her any where near the count however, they will need to play their cards correctly if they wished to sucseed in their mission to separate the Count from his new human pet.

* * *

 **Hey guys sorry this took so long, Drac gave me hell trying to type out his stuff. You know its not easy trying to create a dark character who has a personality other than drinking blood? Lol, thanks so much for all the reviews and ill do my best to work on the next chapter and get it out soon.**


	7. Noapte târziu plimbare

_7-Noapte târziu plimbare_

Kya had never been so nervous in her life, the only other time that she could remember when her heart beat so fast that she felt her pulse in her ears was when she had to wait for the doctors in London to pronounce her mother and fathers death. Now as Kya sit side saddle on her horse, wearing a very thick cloak that she had borrowed from Anna's wardrobe over top her usual outfit of a blue peasant top, black corset and black trousers, awaiting the arrival of the Count. As they had agreed Kya had left Castle Valerious just after sunset to go into the forest to meet the man in black in the small clearing beside the abandoned house where she had been thrown from her horse just a few days ago. Though she knew it was only to be a short encounter she still felt nervous. No one had ever shown such interest in her no matter whom they were, be it a common man who lived beside her within the city of London, or a wealthy man. However, since meeting this man Kya could not stop thinking about him and how kind he was towards her. From the stories she had heard about Count Dracula told to her by her cousins and many of the patrons in the pub, she did not see how a man who helped her in the forest and walked her home from a night working could be a so called monster. Though she knew not to judge people on their appearances she had a feeling that the people here in Transylvania had not learned that lesson. After sitting upon her horse for over an hour Kya dismounted and gently pat her horses neck before blowing warm air into her hands to try and warm them. Just as she had begun to consider this a complete joke Kya heard the sound of heavy hooves upon the road.

Turning around Kya saw a very large all black horse coming up the trail being ridden by a man in clothing just as dark as the creatures hair. It was clear that this horse was VERY well taken care of and was well fed. It stood several inches taller than her own horse and its hair seemed to cover the large creature with a break down its back where the saddle was. Upon looking at the rider Kya could feel her heart skip slightly when she saw the Count there. He had a slight smirk on his face and get pulled his horse to a stop. The massive animal reared up before neighing loudly and coming down to rest in front of Kya and her own average horse. Just seeing this creature, she knew that this man had money, and a lot of it. These sorts of horses weren't native to this part of the world, in fact they were more common in Scotland. How had he managed to get a horse like this all the way over here?

The count quickly and easily dismounted his horse, dropping to the ground before the young woman. He stood up right now with a full smile on his face and Kya felt slightly shaken by seeing this. It was clear that he did not smile often, he preferred to smirk rather than show any real emotion. Kya took a small step back out of habit and bowed her head to the man trying to be respectful.

"Good evening sir." She said as calmly as she could.

This caused him to smile more before bowing to her. "Good evening to you my dear."

Upon standing back up he noted that there was a subtle change to the woman before him. He knew that he could influence the souls around him, however he had taken great care not to influence this woman as he wanted to see what she would do. Her entire demeanor changed, she seemed to be drawn to him witch he found very odd. What could possibly draw her towards him? He was not looking for another bride, he already has three and Aleera, being the youngest of his brides, her demeanor made it very clear to him that he should be careful when choosing another woman. This woman was very quiet and timid, something he had never before enjoyed in a woman. He preferred them to be confident and cunning, to which is how he had his lovely Verona, his first bride. The woman before him was completely different, well educated and respectful to all those around her. She never hesitated before him and her heart was steady in his presence. What is it that made him drawn to her, to see what she would do, what goes on in her mind?

Kya felt her cheeks flush with warmth at the Counts prolonged stare. "Are we going to stand here all night then?" She asked getting straight to the point.

To this the Count chuckled. "No, i suppose we shant." With that the Count held out his hand towards Kya, she carefully took his hand and allowed him to help her back up onto her horse before pulling himself up onto his own horse. "Do try to keep up my dear."

He ushered his horse into a slow trot urging Kya to do the same with her own horse. Dracula led them down a path that diverted from the main trail that Kya had followed. While following beside the count Kya couldn't help but to wonder why they had to meet at night, though she assumed it was due to the fact that he was simply a busy man she did not want to even consider that the stories that are told through the village were true. She had to admit however, that some of these stories were beginning to influence her. Just by working at the pub for a few days she had hear plenty of stories, enough to last a lifetime really. She had even written down some of these stories since they seemed to ridiculous to her. Dracula seemed to notice Kya's silence and deep thought and attempted to rouse her from her silence.

"What has you so deep in thought my dear Kya?" He asked while slowing down his horse so that they could speak more easily.

Kya blushed and looked over to the Count before looking down at her saddle and her bare hands holding the reigns to her horse.

"I was simply wondering why we must always meet at night. I do not belive that the stories that are told in the village are true."

The Count seemed to be very interested with that statement by the young woman. Everyone knew that he was the spawn of the devil, cursed to drink the blood of others to survive. How is it that this woman did not believe this? He smirked slightly to him self before responding. "I am a busy man my dear. I do all of my buisness during the day, and spend my nights seeking entertainment when not working."

Kya nodded slightly while continuing to ride beside him. She didn't fully belive that story however, she hardly knew the man so she wouldnt pry into his private life. She knew better than to ask to see what this man did for work. What ever it was she was sure it had to be something she wanted no part in.

"And I am your entertainment for this evening?"

The Count chuckled slightly. "When you say it that way is seems as if i seek pleasures that you've made clear to me aren't to be had. Is it such a crime that a man such as myself, should wish to spend his evening in the company of an intelligent woman?"

Kya felt her cheeks flush with color before she looked back down to her cold hands. "You flatter me sir. I'm a simple maid, one who now works in a bar."

"And why would a maid come all the way out here with a man she hardly knows?" He asked a slight, derisive tone in his voice.

"I dont appreciate your tone sir." Kya pulled her horse to a stop as they reached the peak of a tall hill. She did not appreciate being spoken to as if she were benith him, they were equals no matter what class they were. Royalty or common servant, Kya saw them as equals.

KYa watched as the Count pulled his horse to stop just a few feet away from her. Now with them being on top of the hill the moonlight shone brighter around them allowing both of them to see each other clearly. And as the Count looked upon the woman before him it was clear that she was angered by his tone. He bowed his head to her and smirked very slightly.

"Forgive me my lady."

Kya stiffened slightly at the formal title. "I am not a Lady, my family is not of royalty. That is Anna and Velkan, not me." Kya looked past the Count towards the village and sees the beautiful view that was before her.

From up here you could see absolutely everything. From Castle Frankenstein all the way down to the river that separated the village from Anna and Velkans castle. It was all lit up with the glow from the fires burning in peoples homes, the lanterns on being carried by those who were out at night finishing up some last minute chores. All of it was covered in a very light blanket of snow.

"It is beautiful yes?" The Count asked as he dismounted and tied his horse to a near by tree. He then walked over to Kya and helped her down from her horse before tying it beside his own.

Kya placed her hands inside her cloak to keep them warm and walked over to the edge of the treeline to look at the town.

"It's breath taking."

She looked to her left and saw the Count standing there beside her watching the town. The two of them stayed on the hill top for several hours talking about anything and everything that came to mind. Music, books, even their horses who at one point during the night managed to wander off and they had to go searching for them. Kya did not return home until well after three in the morning. This did not alarm any of the staff in the castle when she came home so late but what did was the fact that she was smiling and muttering things to herself. Kya felt as if some kind of spell had been cast over her as she rode back to the castle, and now as she walked through the halls of the castle going back to her room, she didn't care that her cousins were home and were searching through the different maps in the library. Her thoughts were filled with the dark clothed man she had spent her evening with.

They had much more in common than she had originally thought. He was an avid reader as well and has hundreds of books in his own private library. He preferred Shakespeare and Edgar Allen Poe. He even offered to bring her a copy of his favorite works by Poe. It was very odd to Kya to be able to speak freely with a man about literature and he was happy that a woman was able to read and have an intelligent conversation. For the rest of the night and part of the next day Kya couldn't stop thinking about Vladislaus. That evening she was expected at the pub and showed up an hour early so she could help set things up for the night, to which the master of the pub appreciated greatly. The entire night whent without a problem although the pub did clear out pretty quickly just after midnight. It seemed very odd to Kya when all of the regular customers that stayed until the bar closed at just after two in the morning, they left well before midnight. Some of them didn't even show up at all. She spoke to the bar master about it and he said that it must be the time for the vampires to feed.

Kya brushed that aside and finished her chores for the night and helped close up the pub. Before closing the door while Kya was pulling her cloak on the older man grabbed her arm and spoke quickly and frantically.

"Run home girl, do not linger. The vampires feed tonight."

Kya felt a slight chill run down her back when he spoke. It was almost as if he was speaking from experience, how odd. Kya turned and began her walk back to the castle but on her way there she heard something very odd. It sounded almost as if someone was trying to scream but something was preventing them from doing so. Kya turned around and looked around the square but there was nothing around here that she could see that would cause such an odd sound. Carefully walking around the back of the pub, Kya was very careful to keep quiet as to not draw any potential attackers that may lurk in the night. ONce again as she came around the side of the building she couldn't see anything or anyone there.

What could have made that sound? It was so odd, it was almost as if someone was trying to scare her into believing the stories of the vampires. Kya shook her head and pulled her cloak tighter around her before coming around the side of the building and began to walk towards the castle again. As Kya began to pass through the grave yard she heard the same sound again this time coming from somewhere around the grave yard.

"Hello?" Kya called out as she stopped to look around. This time as Kya turned around she saw a figure standing outside the grave yard with their back to her.

As she walked towards the figure she took note of how it was dressed. From behind it clearly appeared to be a woman dressed in very long and elegant clothing. It was a very long thin material that whent from a creme color around the woman's body and faded into a deep green. As Kya drew closer she felt her heart begin to race and then suddenly stop for just a moment when the woman turned around towards Kya showing that the woman was holding onto a young boy who was bleeding heavily from his throat and running down to the ground. As Kya looked at the woman's face she saw just exactly where the blood had gone. The woman's beautiful face was smeared with dark red blood running from her mouth and down her neck, as this information began to sink in her mind screamed only one thing to her...

 _RUN!_

* * *

 **TA DA! I hope you guys liked this chapter, please let me know what you think. R &R! **


	8. frica

_8-frica_

Kya's heart hammered in her chest as her mind raced. The woman before her was a vampire! A REAL VAMPIRE! Her mind raced as she tried to process this new information. The stories were true and the creature before her was drinking the blood of a young boy and was possibly going to find someone else to feast from. Kya's feet felt like lead as she took a slow step backwards and tried her best to keep calm. Now was not the time to loose her head and go screaming through the village. The woman before her smiled with a savage look in her eye, clearly the boy that now lay at the woman's feet was not her only meal for the night, she had now set her sights upon the maid. Kya kept calm until she saw the vampire take a step towards her then stop when she was about to step into the grave yard. This caused Kya to stop and look for another way to run. As long as she stayed on Holy ground they couldn't touch her! Kya looked from the ground and back towards the woman and gasped when she did not see her there.

"Oh god." She whispered to herself before turning in a small circle and looked around to see if she was any where around the grave yard.

As she turned she didn't see her any where around the village. Taking the chance Kya took off running as fast as she possibly could towards the castle not caring what would happen should she run. Just as Kya reached the half way point in the trail she was knocked over by someone, and was sent rolling down the small hill she was on. Once she stopped Kya quickly tried to get up and keep running. If she made it to the gates of the castle she could call out for help but being this far away no one would hear her. She heard a high pitched laugh come from behind before something hard and cold wrapped around her throat and forced Kya to stop running and try to pull the object from her throat. The object tightened around her throat cutting off her air and lifted her off of the ground causing Kya to choke and try to escape harder.

"Is this the one Verona?" A high pitched thickly accented voice, laced with venom asked from just before the struggling maid.

Kya opened her eyes to see who'm her attacker was and she felt her heart race faster as she saw not only the woman from the grave yard but another woman of equal beauty. Her eyes were bright green spitting venom upon the young maid as she held her by the throat a foot off of the ground. Her firey red hair flowed around her almost glowing to show just how angry the woman was.

"It smells like the one." The woman in green said her voice soft and yet still held immense power within it.

"L-let... me... go! PLEASE!" Kya gasped before being thrown back into a tree, then landed on the ground as severe pain began to spider through her body. She chocked as air suddenly rushed into her lungs making her throat burn and her vision turn blurry for just a moment.

She quickly tried to stand but was throne back down by a hard blow to her shoulder followed by laughter.

"Whore... what does he want with such a pitiful and horrid creature as you?"

Kya coughed once more before pushing herself up against the tree she had been thrown into and felt something warm and wet start to run down her cheek. Upon touching her head she felt a sharp pain flash through her skull. As she pulled her hand away from her head she saw it covered in blood. This wasn't good, she needed to escape and quickly. Perhaps she could reason with them? She had always been good at talking people down from doing something they shouldn't be, however... she wasn't dealing with a human. The two women before her were immortal beings, spawns of Satan, creatures that feasted upon the blood of others and they clearly had their sights set on her. What had she done to warrant this kind of torture before death? She had always tried to be kind to others when needed and help them as well and now when she needed help the most there was no one around to help her.

"I say we kill her now and let her rot."

Kya looked up towards her attackers and saw them arguing with each other about what to do with her. Kill her or leave her in the woods. She slowly pushed herself up and reached into her cloak pocket and felt the familiar weight of the holy water and crucifix that Anna and Velkan insisted she carry with her when she started working at the pub. They said that it would come in handy when she needed it. Kya very carefully took it out and hid the bottle behind her cloak and very slowly opened the top before putting her thumb over the opening and looked at the two vampires before her. They were still speaking to each other about what to do so Kya had the opportunity at hand. Ignoring the pain in her body, Kya rushed forwards and sprayed the red head in the back with the water causing her skin to immediately begin to boil and sizzle as if severely burned by fire. Kya took off running again as the vampire shrieked in pain and anger.

"She'll die!"

Kya could hear her heart pounding in her ears as she ran through the woods trying to get to the castle. Just as she could see the branch in the road that led to the castle Kya screamed out in pain as something sharp sliced through her right arm forcing her to fall down and hold her arm in pain. She looked up and saw a large grey winged creature flying off into the night followed by another similar creature. The first one took a turn and came right back towards Kya and landed in front of the injured woman transforming back into the read haired immortal. This time her eyes are bright pink and she her long fangs showing from her mouth.

"You will die tonight whore! Your blood will keep me beautiful for ever." The woman bent down and grabbed her by the throat and opened her mouth as if to bite her.

Kya closed her eyes tightly hoping for a quick death and to hopefully see her family again, but just before she was sure she was about to feel the icy hands of death take her, a thundering roar rang out from over head. The woman quickly let Kya go causing her to fall onto the ground in agony. The two women both cowered away in fear of the sound and backed away from what ever was over head. Kya did not wish to stay to see who or what this new creature was, she was almost at the castle and she needed to get there before she lost any more blood. Pushing herself up she ignored the agony she felt in her arm and spreading through her back. All that mattered was getting back to the castle, to where it's safe. She stumbled at first then managed to run as best as she could with multiple injuries, as she ran she held onto her injured arm trying her best to stop the bleeding but failed miserably as she noticed that she had started to drip blood onto the ground as she walked. This wasn't good, at this rate she'd bleed out for sure. A rush of relief swept over Kya as she spotted the main gates of the castle, she picked up her pace slightly needing to get to the gates.

"Thank god!" She cried.

She stumbled slightly but caught herself against the gates as she finally managed to make it to safety. Her numb fingers fumbled with the gate pin but after a moment of struggling she managed to open the lock and open the gate. Kya rushed through before quickly pulling the gate closed behind her and made sure that it locked back in place before moving on. Just as she was about to let go of the gate a gentle touch upon her hand made her stop. Had she been followed, was this the moment she was to truly die? Her heart began to race for just a moment before she hesitantly turned to see who was on the other side of the gate. Upon seeing who it was her heart picked up its pace for just a moment before calming all together. He stood there with a very concerned and worried look upon his face, an odd sight for Kya to see as she had only seen him calm and somewhat amused.

"They should never have layed a hand upon you." The Count's voice was calm and sincere as were his eyes. The light blue pools were filled with sorrow and pain, as if he truly wished for this to have been avoided.

Kya stared at him for a moment trying to decide what to do or even what to say. She had just been attacked by creatures that she had once thought to be nothing but a fairy tale, and now... she knows all to well that they are real. They had just tried to kill her! And now the master of them all was speaking to her as if they were old friends. Granted they had been meeting in secret for the past week however, that did not change the fact that she now knew the truth about him. He truly was an immortal, yet... she still did not believe the stories told about him specifically. He had never acted as anything but a gentleman before her. He was always kind and respectful, he was never vulgar or abusive towards her. In fact he often encouraged her to read and offered to give her one of his own books. How could she feel hatred towards someone who hasn't harmed her?

"I find out... that everything i've known... everything is a lie... and you... you are an immortal as they say and yet... I can't seem to stop seeing you as something different. Something other than the stories." Kya pulled away from the gate before stumbling slightly and fell back against the gate, light headed and weak. "I-I need to go."

She felt a gentle hand upon her shoulder and looked up to see Vlad kneeling before her looking at her injuries. She weakly pushed him away before forcing herself to stand and walked the rest of the way back to the castle. She struggled to keep herself up right but managed as best she could as the adrenaline inside her began to wear off and the full amount of pain began to sink in. Kya didn't look back at all as she made her way to the servants entrance of the castle and walked into the main portion of the house. Once inside she leaned against the nearest wall that happened to be where Anna and Velkan had a large painting of the Vatican in Rome. She felt as though she should laugh at the odd painting especially when God did not grace her this night. Kya heard a soft gasp of shock before she felt small hand upon her wounds. Kya could barely keep her eyes open as her body gave into its fatigue. The last thing that she saw before falling to the ground were two figures running through the hall to get to her.

* * *

Pain.

That was the first thing that she could feel as she began to wake from a dream less sleep. Her right arm throbbed in pain as well as her head. How was it that she had managed to survive to wake and see what had become of her. As Kya opened her eyes she saw that she was laying down in her bed inside the castle, completely covered by the blankets the only portion of her body exposed to the cold air in the room was her right arm that was heavily bandaged in white cloth and has several spots where she had bled through the dressings.

"Try not to move, you'll pull at the stitches." A familiar voice spoke from just beside her.

Kya turned her head slightly and saw that Anna was sitting beside her bed carefully wringing out a small cloth in a basin of warm water. Kya watched her for a moment before sitting straight up in bed and very carefully touches her body to ensure that this was not a dream.

"What did i just tell you?" Anna asked in a very serious tone, clearly she was annoyed that Kya hadn't listened to her. "I still need to sew your head closed, for now you've stopped bleeding, but if you don't lay down and let me work then you'll never heal properly. Now lay back down."

Kya looked at her cousin completely in shock as the nights events suddenly flooded back into her mind. How had she managed to survive this long, espeically with loosing so much blood? Kya saw just how annoyed her cousin was but ignored her wishes as she continued to try to sort things out in her mind about the recent attack on her life. Normally she could handle beatings especially since she was beaten regularly by her mistresses son, but since coming to this country she felt as though she were free. Free from all the constraints of London society. She would never had tried to defend herself before and yet she did. She used holy wagter against an immortal being that shouldn't exist.

"They... they're real..." Kya muttered to herself as her cousin placed the warm cloth into the wound on her head making Kya flinch away slightly in pain.

"What are you talking about Kya?" Anna asked, annoyed with her at the moment.

She didn't listen to her when she said not to move, Anna was still trying to figure out just how her cousin had managed to cut her arm so badly as well as split her head open. Thank fully the cuts on both her arm and head were able to be cleaned easily however, stitching them up was the problem. The cut to her head had gone deep enough to just barely scrape her skull and split down towards her forehead. IT would need a lot of time and stitches in order to heal properly but Anna had dealt with these kinds of injuries before. With the kind of lifestyle that her and her brother lived they needed to know a vast amount of medical procedures in order to properly heal themselves with out needing to call for a doctor every time one of them was injured.

"Where is Velkan? I-i need to apologize to you both. T-those stories... they're real!" Kya looked at Anna as she spoke ignoring the fact that Anna was picking up a curved needle from a small bowl and black thread.

Once she had said that Anna froze as it all began to fall into place.

"Were you attacked?" She asked.

Kya nodded before looking at her cousin. "I am so sorry that I didn't believe you before. I-i didn't think that they were real but now... they tried to kill me!" Kya shouted before standing up and looked down to her cousin. "Why would you leave your people to defend themselves against creatures that strong?"

Anna looked up to her cousin and very carefully tried to sit her down. "Sit down and take a breathe. Speak while i sew your head closed."

Kya reluctantly sat back down on the bed and began to tell Anna about her encounter with the two vampires while she carefully sewed her head closed. Once both parties had finished, Kya looked at her cousin partially scared and exhausted.

"You don't know how sorry i am Anna. I should have listened to you from the start and i didn't and now... now it almost cost me my life."

Anna simply sat there watching her cousin trying to decide what to do. She wanted to tell Kya that she had been wrong from the start, however she knew Kya felt horrible for not listening to them before. Now she felt confused and angry that she had nearly lost her cousin to two brides of Dracula this night. As she sat there she contemplated just what to do. It was clear that Kya was now in danger, but why would they attack her. This is not like any patterns they had shown before, not only had they attacked earlier in the month but they had left someone alive after an attack. Though she gave the young woman credit for using the Holy water that Velkan and herself had given to the young woman, it wasn't enough to fully escape from a vampire. She had to have help to escape from them... but who was it!

* * *

 **HEYY GUYS! Thanks for reading, this is going to be the last chapter for a little while. Theres a hurricane headed towards where i live and were not sure whats happening. Theres so many different options right now and we dont know what to do. Any way i hope you guys liked this chapter. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE REVIEW THEY ARE MY CRACK AND I NEED TO SATISFY MY ADDICTION!**


	9. Înţelegerea

_9-Înţelegerea_

She couldn't sleep at all. It had already been two weeks after close encounter with death and Kya couldn't sleep at all. Every time she lay her head down to rest she would dream about the red haired woman and the various ways that she could have killed her. The one that played most in her head was her running away from the vampire, but every time she reached the gates of the castle the woman would grab her then drain her of all the blood in her body. These night terrors have gotten so bad that she had begun to ask Anna and Velkan to drug her so she may be able to sleep during the night. But even then, that didn't help her. It would only allow her a few short hours of sleep before she was awake and in pain. Tonight was no different. Kya lay in her bed on her side staring out the window into the night sky and watches the full moon in the sky. As a child her mother had told her that there was a man on the moon that would watch over all the happenings going on during the night. Though she should be thinking of her family and regaining her strength, all she could think about was the Count and how concerned he was for her. She wondered what he would be doing this evening, but she mainly thought of questions that she would ask him if she saw him again.

Kya jumped slightly when a soft knock came to her door. "Come in." She said softly.

She carefully turned to see who it was that came in and upon seeing her cousin walking in she carefully sat up and made room for her to sit beside her. Kya also noticed that Anna had two steaming cups of tea in her hands. She knew that one of them was laced with different herbs to help her sleep but she knew that it wouldn't last very long. As Anna mad here way closer to her cousin she could see just how tired and scared the young woman was from her attack. Though Anna had adapted her life style to suit her needs, minimal sleep and eating when she can she knew that her cousin wasn't the same as her. She had been raised differently and she wasn't expecting her to adapt to her lifestyle. Even though Anna was used to not sleeping or eating for long periods of time, Kya was not and Anna. Kya was raised completely different from Anna and it wasn't more apparent to the older woman than it was now as she sat beside the young woman and gave her the cup of tea that she had asked for. It was laced with a very powerful herb that would knock out even a Werewolf when ingested.

Anna smiled kindly to her cousin as she handed her the cup. "Be careful, its very hot." She warned.

Kya carefully took the cup and held it in her hands enjoying the feeling of the hot china between her small hands. She didn't notice until now that she was freezing cold, yet as she held the cup she slowly felt her hands absorb the heat. She nodded slightly indicating that she understood what she was being told but did not speak. She found that she could not find words to explain how she felt or to respond to anyone, it was almost as though the vampire had taken her voice with her when she was attacked.

"The people in the village have been asking about you. They heard about your accident and they send well wishes to you."

Kya simply nodded again before taking a small sip of her tea then choked and gagged on the foul taste. Apparently that managed to break her silence. "What the bloody hell is in that?"

Anna couldn't help but to laugh. "I may have put a bit too much Valerian in it this time." She said before pouring some of the sweetened tea from her own cup into her cousins. "That should help some."

Kya smiled slightly before taking another sip and made another face, thought it was better with the added sweetness it was still terrible. "I swear i will show you how to make a proper cup of tea, or at least the British way."

Anna smirked before taking a drink from her cup. This was the first time that the two had been able to just sit and talk, well sit and enjoy each others company really as Anna did most of the talking while Kya listened. They just sat there watching the sky through the window as Anna spoke about what her and Velkan were doing on their long trips.

"We've been trying to set a trap for the Werewolf but we cant find the right spot." Anna said in a defeated tone. This caught Kyas attention. Though she didn't know her cousin well, from the small conversations that they have held over the past month and a half, Anna was never one to simply back down.

"Perhaps having bait there will lure him in... live bait." Kya supplied trying to be of some help for the woman beside her.

Anna thought through that for a moment before smiling and looked at Kya. "How didn't i think of that before! Thank you!" She leaned forwards and hugged her cousin happily before hurrying from the room to find her brother and talk.

Kya smiled slightly to herself before finishing her cup of tea and lay back down for the night. Hopefully this time she would be able to sleep through the night without any problems. As she lay down to watch the night sky as she slowly fell into the welcoming arms of sleep she could have sworn that she saw a large bat like creature fly in front of the moon. IT couldn't be real, though she assumed anything was possible now that she knew that vampires were real.

* * *

 _"She'll die!"_

 _Kya could hear her heart pounding in her ears as she ran through the woods trying to get to the castle. Just as she could see the branch in the road that led to the castle Kya screamed out in pain as something sharp sliced through her right arm forcing her to fall down into the snow and hold her arm in pain. She looked up and saw a large grey winged creature flying off into the night followed by another similar creature. The first one took a turn and came right back towards Kya and landed in front of the injured woman transforming back into the read haired immortal. This time her eyes are bright pink and she her long fangs showing from her mouth._

* * *

Kya woke with a start, sitting straight up in her bed. Sweat rolled down her back and neck as she looked around the room to see that she was alone in her room at Castle Valerious. Another nightmare...great. She looked at the window and saw that it was early in the morning so she hadn't missed very much of the day. That was good but it also means that Kya was able to get just a little bit of sleep and as she sat on the edge of her bed she felt much better than she had over the past few weeks. As she sat there Kya ran over everything again in her mind and she gradually built up the courage to get changed and ready for the day. She was tired of suffering, she needed to get back out there, but she mainly wanted answers and tonight she would get it.

Kya pushed herself off her bed and went to the small trunk in the room that held her clothes, and picked out a very simple outfit. Black trousers, boots, a corset and a cream colored blouse that had light blue flowers embroidered into the sleeves. Kya took her clothes and went to the en-suite bathroom and began to bathe. Once finished she brushed her hair but was very careful with her stitches and she managed to style her black curly hair to cover them. Though she knew her looks didn't matter she was still determined to keep as much of it as possible. It took the young woman at most an hour to prepare for the day. Once finished she left her room and went to find where Anna and Velkan were and it was very easy for her to find them, all she had to do was follow the sounds of grunting and the clang of metal on metal. Apparently they were sparring and were very into it.

As Kya came into the large armory she could see only small flashes of her cousins as they worked their way through the large room, fighting with each other using swords. She stood in the doorway watching the scene amazed by how elegantly they moved and how focused they were on their fight. However, the fight quickly changed when Anna picked up a long silver object and threw it at Velkan from behind one of the shelving units. It missed him and whent straight for Kya, she quickly moved to the side and it planted its self into the wall where her head once was. She looked at her cousins and is shocked that she was almost hurt, though it was an accident she still didn't enjoy that fact. Anna was the first to stop and she gasped in shock.

"Kya are you alright? Im so sorry." The older woman came running over to Kya to see if she was aright or if she hand injured her.

"I'm fine."

Anna stopped when she realized that Kya was out of her room. "Your up, and... dressed."

"Yes i am, its about time i got off my arse and started living again." Kya sighed as she crossed her arms over her chest and looked at her cousin. "Im not a fragile doll. Im a human and i need to live like one."

Kya saw that she had clearly shocked her cousins but she didn't care, she was on a mission and she wanted to be prepared. "I'm going out, and i'm not sure when ill be back but i wanted to be prepared should i be attacked again."

That seemed to shock Anna and Velkan more so. It took them a moment to get their bearings before Anna cleared her throat and took three things form the weapons shelves around them. A crucifix necklace that she placed around the young woman's neck, a small bottle of holy water though this one was a tad larger than the one she had used during her attack, and a silver stake. It was small enough to fit inside her boot however when Anna pressed the release allowing the small item to show its full length it was able to kill anything that might try to attack her. Hopefully this time she would be a bit better prepared to face any creatures lurking in the night.

Kya very carefully tucked the cross between her breasts under her shirt, since she was going to try to find the Count this evening she didn't want to put him off her if anything shed tie it to the reigns of her horse once leaving the castle. She did tuck the stake into her boot but she didn't plan on using that at all, in fact she had hopped that she didn't have to use any of these objects tonight. This evening wasn't about trying to kill the Count but to get answers. Kya thanked her cousins before leaving the room and going down to the stables where she carefully placed the holy water down into her cloak that hung beside the saddles, she then whent over to her horse and gently stroked his head.

"Hey there, i hope your ready to get out a stretch." She said kindly to her horse before gently brushing him down and saddling him up himself.

Once finished she put her cloak on and opened the doors to the stable to allow her to pull her horse outside and begin her ride. After climbing up onto the saddle she winced in pain as she had to settle back into the habit of riding. Her body had been resting for a bit too long and she had lost some muscle memory from riding, luckily she still remembered how to regain it as well as develop it further. Taking a deep breath Kya looked around the small area in front of the stables before setting off to clear her mind and to explore. Perhaps the Count would be easier to find than she had expected. During her ride she decided to take a trip through the village where she was constantly stopped by passers by to ask how she had been and why she had changed her hair style. Kya forced herself to be polite to everyone but she understood that they were genuinely concerned. Anna had told her that no one had survived a vampire attack and lived to tell the tale. And yet... here Kya was. That was one portion to this entire ordeal that didn't make any sense to her. Why if the vampires had killed hundreds before and never left any survivors had she been the only one to escape? Could it be that she wasn't from this place and they didn't feel the need to? Or was it that creature that had cornered the two vampires' as Kya ran?

All these questions ran through her head the entire time that she rode. She barely kept track of the time but she did take careful consideration to let her horse stop to rest. At the moment the sun has just barely set and Kya had stopped to let her horse rest and drink from the stream she had found in the forest. She had hoped that there was a small clearing to allow him to eat some of the grasses and wild flowers that were there but she hadn't come across any as she had diverted from the main path through the forest. Though she was lost she had managed to keep an eye on the village through the trees that way she could make her way towards it as best she can in the dark. With the fires going inside the small homes in the village it was easy to see that there was something happening tonight with the families, be it a cultural holiday or just a regional difference Kya didn't know. She was still to much in shock to care. She looked down to the head of her horse as he drank from the stream and she gently stroked his mane as she sighed.

"At least your not trying to kill me this time are you Hugh?" She said to him quietly and reached into the saddle bag that was attached to the saddle on her horse, and took out a small canteen filled with water.

As she was taking the top off of it she noticed a dark figure int he distance, probably about half a mile away form where she stood now. She felt her heart begin to race slightly. Kya didn't want to be scared but she couldn't help it, now with the memory of her attack still fresh in her mind she couldn't help but to think that it was those women coming back to finish her off. And this time shed have no way of escaping easily, unless she wanted to commit suicide by jumping off the side of the cliff that would lead her to the village, and probably directly to the Undertaker. Kya carefully put her canteen away before mounting her horse and gently leading him away from the stream and back towards the village. If she was going to find the Count tonight then she might want to start by going towards Castle Frankenstein, perhaps she could learn a thing or two there about where he might live or be during this time of night.

Just as Kya had found her way back to the main trail she felt a cold chill run down her spine, someone was watching her. She took a deep breathe before carefully scanning her surroundings but she could not see anyone around her that could make her feel this way. She paused as she realized that she could have attracted the attention of the exact person she was looking for. She took another deep breathe before looking around her once more and speaking loudly and clearly.

"Come out from where you hide. I have not come here looking to harm, only for answers." She said as she gently pulled her horse to a stop.

Something snapped behind her making the woman turn around to see who or what it was. When she saw nothing there she calmed slightly, that was until her horse bucked up and began to kick its hooves in the air. This time Kya was able to hold on until Hugh settled down, she carefully ran her hand over his neck to try to calm him then she saw exactly what had frightened him. Standing before her horse was the Count dressed all in black as he normally was and his bright blue eyes staring into her own almost as though he was looking into her very soul. Kya felt her heart beat sped up slightly before she forced herself to calm down, he wasn't the one that harmed her so she had no reason to fear him. She very carefully sat up in the saddle and kept eye contact with the man before h er. He didn't have his usual smirk but rather a more forlorn and neutral expression.

"Sir Vlad... I was hoping to see you this evening." Kya said as calmly as she possibly could manage.

"As I you my dear." He said calmly though she felt as though he was holding back his anger.

Kya blushed slightly at the awkward silence that followed and she carefully dismounted her horse and pat his neck as she tried to order her thoughts together. She had everything planned out and now as she stood before the very person, or rather creature she had wanted to see... she couldn't remember what she had wanted to say. Part of her was angry that he hadn't told her that vampires and werewolves were real after she had made it extremely clear to him that she didn't believe that they were. Yet the other part was worried and scared, over the few short weeks that they had been talking and getting to know one another she had grown attached to the Count, it was almost as though she was under a spell.

"I had thought you returned to England after your encounter with my Brides..."

Kya paused when she heard the Count speak. So those women were affiliated with him after all. That took care of one portion of the story but that also opened up so many more questions that haven't been answered.

"Did you call them into action against me?" She asked with a bit too much venom in her voice. She felt hurt and betrayed, he made it sound as though he had intended for her to die.

"Not by any means." She looked over to the man beside her and she didn't react to the fact that he now stood right beside her rather than in front of her horse. "I had no intentions of causing you any harm."

"Then why was i attacked? Have i slighted you in any way, or scorn you? None of this makes the slightest sense to me." Kya turned and let the man before her know exactly how she felt. "I thought that i was going to die that night by the hands of two creatures i had thought a myth. A silly story that mothers tell their children in this town to frighten them and keep them in line. Never in my life would i have through that i would be attacked by them and see the face of my killer be one that thought me a whore. IS that what i am to you? A simple slut that spreads her legs to anyone who comes by?"

Though they had never even kissed Kya couldn't help but to feel as though she was being used for another purpose.

"I haven't been able to sleep for two weeks, do you know how tired i am of not being able to close my eyes without seeing that woman trying to kill me." She looked down at the ground as the memories flooded through her mind. "Its like i'm lost at sea was a demon of fire, one who assumes and doesn't have any answers and she intends to torture me for the correct information." She leaned her head against the saddle of her horse and she let a single tear fall from her eye. She felt much better after having said that aloud, however she knew that she may have angered the Count but when she felt a light touch on her shoulder.

She pulled away from her horse and looked at the Count expecting him to curse her for saying such nonsense. For saying things that may have angered him, she did not know him well enough to know what he would say or do, but she did know that he was always one to surprise her. And he did not fail this time. Before she could open her mouth to apologize her quickly pulled her towards him and placed a soft kiss upon her forehead and hugged her tightly. Kya stood there in complete shock as she very slowly accepted the mans embrace and returned it with one of her own. This was completely different from what she had known from this man, he was always cold and calculated. Very well thought out and never did things that seemed in appropriate for a Lord or someone of Noble Blood to do. Yet here she was, a common servant girl turned bar maid sharing an embrace with a man who was an immortal creature and one who will most likely outlive her many times over. For some reason that she could not fathom, Kya felt herself begin to calm down as she savored the Counts touch.

"You were never meant to be harmed in any way, my precious. I did not think that they would attack you when i sent them to feed, they didn't know that I was becoming acquainted with you through literature rather than conjugal visits. Aleera can become very... forgive the pun... Bloodthirsty. She is the most violent and sadistic of my brides. I have punished her for her actions against you, what she did was never meant to have been done. If you do not wish to see me any more i will understand, you have been harmed far too much for someone i care a great deal for, i do not wish upon you. And i do, i find myself growing attached to you more so than i could have anticipated." Dracula admitted to the small woman in his arms.

Kya stood there for another moment, organizing her thoughts as she processed this information. The creature that held her so carefully and lovingly wasn't a monster, he wasn't a savage creature that killed everyone within his reach. He was completely different from anything Kya had been told or expected. He was a man. A man who was cursed to roam the earth for all eternity and feed from the blood of others to survive. Yes, it was a gruesome way to live but what choice did he have? She did not know the full story of why he was an immortal creature, but then again she didn't need to. She could see all she needed now, where he could simply take her life easily right here, right now... he didn't. He told her just how he felt and even though it barely answered her questions, she was content with what she was given.

* * *

 **DAMN! I am so sorry for taking such a long time to finish this chapter for you guys. I had to go through several versions of it before i came up with this version. I will try my best ot get the next chapter out to you by either next week or next weekend. Im not sure, College is kicking my ass atm. Hope you guys liked this chap, let me know what you think. R &R please!**


End file.
